St. Mary’s women’s lacrosse advances in NCAA tourney

Norris gets game-winner late in contest

Friday, May 9, 2008

The Seahawks (15-5), who are appearing in their seventh tournament, will now face No. 1 Salisbury (20-0) at 11:30 a.m. in Salisbury in the first of two regional semifinal contests being hosted by Salisbury.

Saturday’s match-up will be the third meeting between the two teams this season with the Sea Gulls coming away with two victories, 18-11 on April 5 at St. Mary’s and 18-7 on April 25 in the Capital Athletic Conference championship game at Salisbury).

St. Mary’s is now 3-6 in NCAA tournament play following the victory. It was paced by junior midfielder Lauren Carrier who tallied a game-high five goals, while sophomore attacker Kelsey Branch dished out a game-best four assists.

FDU-Florham edged St. Mary’s, 8-7, in the first half, overcoming an early 2-0 lead by St. Mary’s with a 5-1 run to claim a 5-3 margin.

Junior midfielder Allie Zerhusen put the Seahawks within one with 3:14 left in the half.

FDU-Florham built its lead to 11-8 in the second half with 25:26 remaining in the contest. A 5-1 Seahawk run helped regain the lead, 15-13, as Carrier scored twice in the run.

With 4:01 on the clock, FDU-Florham sophomore attacker Kristen Schuster knotted the game at 15, completing a pass from Gambardello.

The 2008 CAC rookie of the year, freshman midfielder Aileen McCausland recorded a hat trick, while sophomore attacker Nora Fallon-Oben chipped in a goal and two assists, including setting up the game-winner.

Sophomore defender Karisa Carroll grabbed a game-high five draw controls, while Carrier and senior midfielder Elizabeth Northfield each had four as the Seahawks won 20 of 33 draws.

St. Mary’s College sports information